Modern Demon Battles a 426 Hemi Cuda: Track Time Tuesday

Demon and Cuda split two races, both struggling at the starting line.

This week’s Track Time Tuesday video features the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and the 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. These two Mopar juggernauts were captured by the Wheels YouTube channel at Mission Raceway in Canada, showing two of the greatest drag racing muscle cars of all time going head to head. Odd problems for each car at the starting line impact each of the runs, but this is still great footage of these two legendary machines in action.

Demon and the Cuda

Many of the classic Mopar muscle cars were beasts on the drag strip, but it can be argued that the Plymouth Hemi Cuda is the best known nameplate from that era. The 426-cubic inch Hemi made the classic Cuda one of the quickest stock cars on the street, but more importantly, the old school Hemi took well to upgrades. The engines had underrated power numbers from the factory, but with simple upgrades, the 426 Hemi made way more than the stock figure of 425 horsepower.

This particular Cuda has been heavily modified for drag racing, with the 426 Hemi delivering 950 horsepower. We don’t know what upgrades have been used to reach that number, but it is easy to assume that the engine, transmission and chassis have all been heavily upgraded. The result is a wicked drag strip machine, capable of running well into the 9-second range.

The Demon is the quickest production road car ever, with the 840-horsepower engine affording this Dodge Challenger stock 9-second quarter mile times. Like the classic Hemi, the supercharged Hemi in the Demon is easily upgraded and based on the trap speeds, we know that this car is not stock. We don’t know what has been upgraded, but with a speed of 148 miles per hour, it is considerably quicker than the stock record number of 141 miles per hour.

Legendary Mopar Battle

The video above features two quarter mile battles between the 2018 Dodge Demon and the 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. During the first run, the Cuda rolls through the staging beams, red lights, then hesitates when the Demon launches. As a result, the Challenger gets a bit of a head start, but the Cuda catches, pulls even and crosses the line first.

Unfortunately, due to the roll-through red light start, the old school car doesn’t get any numbers, but the Demon runs a 10.36 at 134 miles per hour.

On the second run, it is the Demon driver’s turn to struggle on launch. We don’t know what happens, but the driver sleeps a bit, then launches, then lifts, then gets back into the throttle. The Cuda, on the other hand, gets a great launch and has a massive lead by the time the newer Challenger gets moving.

The Demon has a much better run this time, but the crummy launch guarantees a lackluster elapsed time and an easy win for the classic Mopar. The Cuda runs a 9.35 at 142 miles per hour while the Demon runs a 9.85 at 148 miles per hour. Considering the bad launch, a 9.85 for the Demon with that trap speed is impressive. With a good launch, this may have been a close race, but the old Hemi Cuda takes the easy win.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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